Backs&Blacks@ChaletMargaritka

Wonderful mountains, great views and some fantastic skiing tips!

May 8, 2011

Thought you all might be interested in a couple of great videos from BASS. The first is very instructive and talks about how to find the ‘holy grail’ of skiing – the sweet spot on your skis and why it is so important. The second shows some great views, wonderful conditions and just some fantastic skiing all put to beautifully subtle and appropriate giutar music – the reason we would all love to be proficient ‘powder hounds’.

Those of you who’ve had the privelege to ski with Hugh and BASS may recognise the shots of Hugh’s old office – The Mont Blanc Massif and some of his secret ‘back country’ trails on Mont Chery, Les Gets.

Check them out on BASS TV (You Tube) via the links below:

Thanks to Hugh, Jazz, Becci and the BASS team.

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Simply a majestic place – ‘Les Portes du Soleil’; Morzine, France

May 7, 2011

We thank John (and Claire) for these wonderful photographs. No words, the pictures simply tell the story of the natural beauty the area offers and what we at Chalet Margaritka are all about and why we are here!

Thankyou John – Simply wonderful (Do give up the day job!). Please come again…….

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End of March and finally we find some consistent OFF PISTE – Thankyou Glyn for the guiding!!

April 18, 2011

Matthew Wood and his friends came to Chalet Margaritka the last weekend in March. Matthew, Kevin and John had all ski’d a fair bit and Martin was as adventurous as the rest of them. (Alas, Andy lost his skiing mojo a tad but we do hope he will get it back; whilst Kevin rediscovered his with a vengeance). Moguls, tours, blacks, off piste the guys really did like a challenge and they really did have a sense of adventure! They didn’t even mind (too much) when we had to walk 500 metres (uphill) along a ridge on the way back from Morgins because they had finally shut the chair upto Pointe de L’Au above Les Crosets due to lack of snow. Yes, we had to walk along the ridge in order to connect with the route down to Les Crosets and home to Avoriaz -check out the video above to get a better flavour of what I’m talking about. There were one or two other places where we needed to take our skis off as well but all in all we did some great skiing across the weekend - Take a look at the pictures below!!

: That’s ‘Haut Fort’ in the background

: A setting some of you may have seen before

: A fine place for a break and no ‘KitKats’ to be seen, just chocolat chaud

: A well earned rest in the warm, Spring like conditions

: Lunch at the ‘Cafe des Sports’, Morgins

: Half way down the ‘Coupe du Monde’; turn left at the hut and just keep going….

: Somewhere on the way down to Prodains

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March – The Girls are back in town or the Chalet anyway!!

March 31, 2011

Snowfalls at the end of February/ early March meant great skiing was available. At the chalet we were inundated with repeat guests during this month. This was really pleasant because it makes the atmosphere in the chalet excellent. It’s like having old friends coming back to visit and ski with us. Some even wanted to re-visit old routes and mountain restaurants – my guiding couldn’t have been that bad after all or alternatively, they were just foolish.

: Alison, Cath, David and Ben with ‘Percy’s Needle’ in the background – Honest!

: Alas, not so much off-piste available for them this year but we still had a lot of fun

: In the wilderness on the way to Morgins, Switzerland

: Thought we’d just add this one of the three of us – Thankyou girls.

: Look what we found down the other side from Morgins, underneath the ‘Dents du Midi’

: Does this look familiar? It did for Paula and the girls

: The ‘Girls on the Run’ RETURN joined by Ali and Susan from Wetherby

: This is only a blue run, honest!

: It had been a long day!

: Last morning on the Pleney – Where is everyone?

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February meant glorious, glorious sunshine!!

February 20, 2011

Strange weather patterns descended on the Western French Alps this year making most of February feel like late March. Morzine-Avoriaz worked overtime (at nights) enabling the pistes to stay in excellent condition. Infact, if anything conditions improved from late January since the milder temperatures softened the hard packed pistes. Our guests really enjoyed these Spring like conditions. Alas, there was not much Off Piste to be found for the Tsar and I.

: Great friends, great guests – wonderfully appreciative!

: On the way to Morgins, Switzerland for lunch at the ‘Cafe des Sports’

: The view from the chalet with a hot air, balloon passing tranquilly by the panoramic windows

: Look at the colour of the sky!

: The Wakes’, Wests’ and Clements’ with the Tsar, of course!

: Boys will be boys – Out in the Wilderness!!

: Anita, William and the boys with Rita outside Chalet Margaritka

: John, Graham and Alison in Avoriaz

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Another season begins at Chalet Margaritka!!

January 24, 2011

Winter 2011 arrived and Chalet Margaritka had plenty of take up for it’s highly personalised, ski weekends and short breaks. The early snow following the cold pattern of Northern Europe including Britain – coldest December (2010) on record – WAS GOOD!!

: The Dilnot-Smith Family

: All very competent skiers – Day 2 the whole family ventured into Switzerland

: Tom and Alex wanted to go off-piste. HONEST!

: Kevin, Patrick and Jaz in Chatel Linga

: Michael, Graham, Stewart, Paul and Paul in Avoriaz

: Mark and the boys at the chalet

: That’s Mont Blanc in the background – beautiful day!

: New Guests – Kevin and George

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Summer’s Over! DEPRESSED? Don’t be Winter’s coming.

September 11, 2010

Some great action shots from the slopes over the last couple of years. For those who know me (Glyn that is) you’ll recognise my distinctive skiing style as I try to go around the gates. Yes, I had this wild idea I might be able to pass the French Test Technique so I opened my wallet (not easy for me) and coughed up some dosh to do some Slalom training with BASS Morzine. Even bought myself a pair of new super-duper very stiff and very fast, short Slalom skis. I think the first run I fell off them very hard. I should probably have taken the hint. Yes, you’ve guessed it – it remains a wild idea!!

Great experience though and marvelous training with BASS. These boys really know what they’re doing!! I can assure you if you want to improve your anticipation, balance and timing then spend a morning or two going around the gates. It’s amazing what it can do for your skiing.

You’ll also find some great shots of Skiing in the POWDER below as well, not to mention the BUMPS. Including some shots of the EXPERTS – BASS fully ISTD qualified instructors in action. Especially, look at the difference in their body angulation to mine as they go around the gates, glide through the powder or attack the bumps………..

: Believe me it’s hard and it hurts sometimes!

: But you have to keep on trying and trying

: Then someone who knows what they’re doing shows up

: How the EXPERTS do it!!

: Powder days are what we all live for!!

: You can’t get enough of the fluffy white stuff

: Especially when it’s snowed over night and the sun has just come out

: Look at the angulation and upper body position – FANTASTIC

: Bumps – Its all about the balance……..

: Not forgetting anticipation and timing

All photographs courtesy of BASS Morzine. I’ve known them and ski’d with them for years – They’re top professionals and absolutely brilliant!! Please check out the link to their website in the side panel (Under Pages) on this BLOG.

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SKI TIPS AND TECHNIQUE

September 5, 2010

Great new ski books coming soon … breaking news!!

An exciting new series of skiing articles from BASS Chamonix. Plus, the first physical edition of Ski Performance Breakthrough which we’ve previously publicised on this Blog as an e-book is now in preparation. A beautiful, high quality production, masterminded in conjunction with one of the UK’s finest printing houses, printers by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen.

For more information of how to get these excellent new books which can only help improve your skiing please contact the author’s direct or contact BASS:

BASS_Morzine@mail.vresp.com

You should also find some links below:

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Discovering Bulgaria and the Black Sea

August 29, 2010

I’m sure you all saw the pictures on the news of the smoke or ‘Smog’ in Moscow from forest fires all over central Russia as the temperatures hit 40C plus during the day. Yes we came to Moscow for the Summer and it just happened to be the hottest one on record. It’s no fun being in the centre of a big city experiencing such temperatures. Sometimes we could escape to Rita’s family Dacha but in the end the smoke made that impossible.

Yes, the hot temperatures and the ‘Smog’ finally got to us so we decamped to the Bulgarian, Black Sea coast for 10 days for a well earned rest. It’s less than a two hour flight from Moscow to Burgas on the Black Sea. Bulgarian people are extremely friendly and it is an area rich in cultural diversity and history.

Trying to keep with the theme of ‘Blacks and Backs’ here are some photos of our adventure off the beaten track rather than in the back country, in the Balkans down on the Black Sea:

: Rita & Alex on the way to the pool

: Commander of the Black Sea – Well the pool anyway!

: What a sexy couple?

: Spot the Parasol!!

: Nessebar ‘old town’ Marina – Look at that wonderful sky and sunset!

: On the ruins of the Ottoman wall – what a picture!

: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No just Alex in full Chelsea regalia

: A fish supper overlooking the sea. Perfect!

: It was windy that day – look at the breakers!!

: Sunny Beach goes on for over 8 kms, all beautiful sand and remarkably clean!

: Where has everyone gone? – The Tsar not very happy!

: The sky, the sea, the sand – No that’s the moon not the sun above the Parasols

: Very relaxed towards the end of our holiday

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Every Great City has a great DERBY – Spartak vs CSKA Moscow

August 9, 2010

Alex and I’s latest wild adventure! We recently attended Moscow’s biggest Derby at the Luzhniki Olympic stadium. There are 5 big Moscow teams in the Russian Super League but Spartak vs CSKA is the one that gets the blood boiling and catches the imagination. Spartak have traditionally been the team of the people and are backed by Luzkov the ‘all important’ Mayor of Moscow. CSKA are the team of the army and hence, also have a huge following given the importance of that institition even in post Soviet Russia (just about everyone still does 3 years national service).

It was a hugely exciting game watched by 60,000 ardent and enthusiastic fans. CSKA edged 2-1 with virtually the last kick of the game; scored by Wagner Love a Brazilian which was apt given the game was played in 30C plus temperatures even though the game kicked off at 7 pm. Some of the pictures telling the story are below………………………